Harvard University

1563 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
(617) 495-3109

Web Site

Admissions E-mail

Electronic Application

National Comparison: Overview of Facts

#1 in Median LSAT

Harvard Law is tied for #1 in terms of the median LSAT score (173) among those applicants granted admission who enrolled as full-time students. The LSAT measures reading comprehension, analytical reasoning, and logical reasoning.

#1 in Private Sector Salary

Harvard Law is tied for #1 in terms of the median starting salary among graduates working in private practice as law firm associates ($180,000).

#1 in Library Size

Harvard Law ranks #1 in terms of library size with 3,018,822 volumes or equivalents.

#3 in Acceptance Rate

Harvard Law ranks #3 in terms of student selectivity with an acceptance rate of 12.9% among those who applied for admission.

#3 in Median Undergraduate GPA

Harvard Law ranks #3 in terms of highest median undergraduate GPA (3.90) among those applicants granted admission who enrolled as full-time students.

#5 in Highest Tuition

Harvard Law ranks #5 in terms of highest tuition among full-time law students ($64,978). We rank from a total of 283 tuition rates from 194 law schools, ranking twice those law schools that have different in-state and out-of-state tuition rates.

#7 in Employment Rate at Graduation

#8 in Employment Rate at 10 Months
Harvard Law ranks #7 in terms of graduates employed at the time of graduation (90.5%) and #8 in terms of graduates employed ten months after graduation (92.1%).

#8 in Bar Passage Rate

Harvard Law ranks #8 in terms of bar passage rate among first-time test takers (97.2%), and it outperforms by +21.5% the state of New York’s overall bar passage rate of 75.7%. (A national comparison on this metric should be taken in a qualified sense and with caution, because every state has a different bar passage rate.)

#33 in Presence of Minority Students

Harvard Law ranks #33 in terms of the highest percentage of students who are racial or ethnic minority (49.6%).

#34 in Public Sector Salary

Harvard Law is tied for #34 in terms of median starting salary among graduates working in government jobs or judicial clerkships at the federal or state level ($60,000).

#50 in Presence of Minority Faculty

Harvard Law ranks #50 in terms of the highest percentage of faculty who are racial or ethnic minority (16.9%).

#117 in Student to Faculty Ratio

Harvard Law is tied for #117 in terms of lowest student to faculty ratio (7.6:1).

#155 in Presence of Female Faculty

Harvard Law is tied for #155 in terms of the highest percentage of faculty who are female (33.1%).

Fall 2020 Application Information

Application Deadline: February 1
Application Fee: $85

Admissions Statistics

2020 2017
Acceptance Rate 12.9% 17.9%
LSAT Score (Median) 173 173
LSAT Score (25th-75th percentile) 170-175 170-175
GPA (Median) 3.90 3.86
GPA Range (25th-75th percentile) 3.80-3.97 3.75-3.96

Bar Exam Statistics

2020 2017
State in which most graduates took bar exam: NY NY
School's bar passage rate: 97.2% 97.3%
State overall bar passage rate: 75.7% 72.7%
School bar pass rate vs. state bar pass rate: +21.5% +24.6%

Employment Statistics

2020 2017
Graduates employed at graduation: 90.5% 92.7%
Graduates employed 10 months after graduation: 92.1% 94.4%

Tuition and Expenses

2020 2017
Tuition: $64,978 $58,242
Room and Board: $24,508 $21,373
Proportion of full-time students receiving grants: 45.6% 47.8%
Median grant amount among full-time students: $24,430 $21,080
Average indebtedness of those who incurred debt: $164,331 $149,754
Proportion of graduates who incurred debt: 76.4% 72.2%
View National Comparison

Students & Faculty

2020 2017
Total Students: 1737 N/A
Men: 50.0% 51.3%
Women: 49.8% 48.7%
Student Racial Demographics:

White: 50.4% N/A
Black: 6.9% N/A
Hispanic: 8.3% N/A
Asian: 10.7% N/A
Student-to-Faculty Ratio: 7.6 : 1 N/A
Total Faculty: 344 N/A
Male: 66.9% N/A
Female: 33.1% N/A
Minority: 16.9% N/A

Full-Time Starting Salaries

2020 2017
Private Sector (Median): $180,000 $160,000
Public Sector (Median): $60,000 $58,000
View National Comparison

Library Resources

2020 2017
Volumes and equivalents: 3,018,822 2,952,472